Ahmedabad: Dalits in Gujarat have declared an open boycott of the dirty job of disposing the carcasses of holy cows. “Take Care of Your Mother Yourself ” is the slogan of the Dalit militants who have risen against the brutality of the upper caste Hindu majority in Gujarat.
This slogan is ranted by the Dalit masses who have started on a 10-day march from Ahmedabad in Gujrat to Una, where Dalit youths were publicly and brutally assaulted by the self-styled cow protectors last month. In the Una incident, Dalits were tortured brutally for doing their traditional job of skinning dead cows and disposing their carcasses. For centuries, Upper caste Hindus had entrusted the dirty job of disposing the carcasses of their holy cows to the Dalits.
The Dalits in Gujarat have now vowed that they would not do this dirty job any more and they are asking the upper castes to take care of the dead cows.
Around 5,000 Dalits from across the state gathered in Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati area on Sunday. The gathering made an earnest appeal for unity in the fight against injustice and atrocities.
The strategy adopted by the Dalits to register their protest against Una Flogging incident has taken the upper castes and the BJP Government by surprise. The protestors pledged to stop skinning cattle carcases and cleaning manholes as a mark of protest against the flogging incident and demanded that the government should provide them with alternative jobs.
The activists participating in the 350-km footmarch are urging dalits on the way Una to take a vow that they would not take up the dirty jobs of skinning dead cows and clean dirty manholes.
The sudden uprising by the Dalits is expected to have its impact on the poll prospects of BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat.
